Feb 22nd 2018

The Beast Inside mixes horror, narrative, and code breaking

Everyone loves a good horror game. A game that sticks around and makes you want to keep playing in spite of, or maybe even because of, how frightening it can be. Mystery lends itself well to horror, and The Beast Inside looks to use that to it's advantage.

The Beast Inside is a horror game where you play as two different protagonists. One is Adam, a cold war codebreaker who has moved to the woods for a more peaceful life as he does his work. The other is Nicolas, a mysterious man from the time of the Civil War in search of his father. You swap back and forth from their different times as you're assaulted by the supernatural. There are many mysteries and puzzles to solve if you want to get out safely.

The inspiration for The Beast Inside comes from games and movies. For games they mention Silent Hill, Amnesia, P.T., Resident Evil 7, and Firewatch. The movies that they draw inspiration from are Shutter Island, Memento, Identity, and The Conjuring. With this list it should be clear that the game won't be all about jump scares, but that a strong narrative will be a key part of the horror experience.

The game itself uses photogrammetry to create realistic looking scenes in UE4. Everything in the game can be interacted with. Many puzzles are physics based, and there are hidden codes that will have to be cracked. There are also many enemies all around. You can run away, hide, or try to fight enemies. The only advantage against them you'll have is the environment and your wits.

The Beast Inside is currently on Kickstarter. It just went up, and is offering early bird rewards still (including the current demo build) if the game sounds interesting at all. Weaving horror into a strong narrative isn't the easiest way to go, but often has a much longer lasting impact on the player. What do you think? Does The Beast Inside sound interesting, or does it just sound like the million other horror games out there?